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Dr Libby Weaver

Is It Just Lousy Genes?

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Do you ever wonder if you were just given lousy genes? We’re told that our genetics plays a pivotal role in our health picture — for example, that ultimately it’s genetics that’s responsible for our body shape and size or whether we will develop a particular illness or disease.

You’ll often hear someone say, “my mother had that so I must have inherited it from her.”

And while it is true that our genetics do play a role in many aspects of our health, epigenetics teaches us that it is what we do with our genes that matters. According to epigenetics you have the ability to control the expression of your genes, meaning you have the ability to control to what extent you “inherit” certain health conditions.

Until fairly recently, science suggested that the genes you inherit from your parents are the most common way to inherit risks for diseases like some cancers and heart problems. But researchers are starting to pay closer attention to what leads genes to express themselves and I love it, because it puts you back in the driver’s seat of your health.

Because, let’s face it, when you believe something is genetic (and very few health conditions are 100 percent the result of your genes), do you feel like there is anything you can do about this?

No.

So, you spend your life living in the cloud of false belief that you have to put up with your health picture, when there may be numerous paths you could take to resolve a particular health challenge.

As scientists started to learn that DNA alone does not define our health destiny, more focus has been driven towards understanding this layer of genetic inheritance or potential – epigenetics.

Epigenetics plays an important role in determining what our DNA blueprints become. Epigenetic changes can be created by exposure to things like smoking, environmental pollutants and nutritional factors, as well as lifestyle behaviours.

Essentially it is our environment that has the ability to switch our genes on or off which, of course, has significant implications when it comes to turning on or off the genes relating to disease.

Furthermore, researchers have demonstrated how it is possible to pass on these epigenetic changes to your children. So how you eat, drink, move, think, breathe, believe and perceive literally has the ability to influence your genetic blueprint and that of the next generation. It is truly mind-blowing.

This is particularly exciting, as we used to hear of people who were likely to have inherited disease risk factors feeling completely disempowered by their luck of the draw. We have moved from feeling “trapped” or “defined” by our genes to being empowered that the lifestyle we lead can literally alter the expression of these genes.

The power is well and truly within our hands, or perhaps more accurately, on the end of our forks. The foods we choose and the nutrients they contain literally have the power to flick the switch on our genes. Do your best to consider that with the choices you make on a daily basis.

I’m pleased to let you know that I have a new book due to be released in late August that will be relevant to women of all ages. And if you missed it, earlier this week we announced my upcoming Spring tour throughout New Zealand and Australia called The Hormone Factor. I created this event as I want every woman to truly understand and appreciate how the female body works and the steps to take to better support their hormonal systems in this busy world of ours. You can read more about the tour below.

Take such good care of you.

With warmth,

Dr Libby x

Are you a bottler or a blurter?

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Do you ever struggle to know when to speak up and when to stay quiet?

It’s a balance that many people find tricky to navigate.

For some, there will be a tendency to keep quiet so as not to rock the boat or risk confrontation. For others, it might be they blurt things that they wish they hadn’t.

Whatever the tendency, it usually comes back to a situation triggering an emotional response within us – and it will often lead to us falling back on learned behaviour patterns from childhood.

Whether you’re a bottler or a blurter, it can be helpful to know that if a situation makes us feel unsafe, it activates a part of the brain called the ‘amygdala’. This part of our brain is tied up to our ‘fight or flight’ stress response and when it is activated, it changes how our brain functions.

Because this part of our brain is intimately linked to our ‘safety’ (not necessarily real safety but perceived safety), it becomes a priority pathway, so we tend to have an inability to focus on anything other than what is bothering us. Also, we can experience a reshuffling of our memory hierarchy which means that anything relevant to the perceived threat is easy for us to recall and most other things are deemed irrelevant.

In his fascinating book Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman coined the term ‘amygdala hijack’ to describe what happens to our brain in these situations.

Our response—whether to bubble over or hold on to our words—will depend on whether our body feels it is safer to ‘fight’ or ‘flee’.

It can be helpful to understand that the way we use our brain changes entirely when we feel unsafe. If we can learn to bring awareness into those situations, it will allow us to recognise what is happening and make different choices.

Here are some tips to help you decipher when to speak up and when to stay quiet.

Give yourself some time

If you notice yourself reacting to a situation, give yourself some space from it. If, for example, a discussion becomes heated and you can feel anger rising, perhaps suggest that you come back to the discussion later. This will allow you to cultivate a sense of calm and approach the situation later when your brain isn’t being hijacked by your amygdala.

Check your motivation

Does your desire to speak up come from a place of hurt or pain? From a drive to fix or rescue someone? Or because you feel a need to be heard? Does your motivation to stay silent come from a place of fear or worry about what might happen? What someone might think of you? Enquire within yourself to discover what might be driving your tendencies. Knowing what is driving you may be all that you need to feel better about something.

Help your body to feel safe

If we are communicating danger to our body by perceiving stress at every corner, it’s going to affect our biochemistry. And if our body is stressed, it will impact on how our brain works! So help your body to perceive safety. This is best achieved through diaphragmatic breathing. If you feel that your breath is shallow and sharp, practice a long, slow breathing exercise daily and prioritise rest and self-care.

Practice meditation

Meditation or other mindfulness-based practices can help us to cultivate awareness so that we’re less likely to be hijacked by our emotions. It also helps to quieten a busy mind and gives us a tangible practice to help soothe and calm us. Meditation and mindfulness practices don’t have to be lengthy to be beneficial. Even just 10-15 minutes a day can help.

Amp up your self-love

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If your body stayed exactly the way it is now, would you be happy?

When we consider our level of self-love, this is a good question to ponder. For many, self-love is always a future thing – I’ll be happy when …

While change and growth are both wonderful things to strive for, the intention behind them can make all the difference to how we experience everyday life.

A constant pattern of desiring change because we never feel that we are enough just as we are, will detract from our health as well as our quality of life.

If we look at ourselves in the mirror and pick out all the parts that, to our eyes, look like flaws – do you think this helps us to feel good about ourselves?

Of course not.

Conversely, imagine you make a decision to take the best care of yourself, to eat in a nourishing way and support your body to be the best version of itself that has nothing to do with your ‘flaws’, and everything to do with believing you’re worth it.

It’s an entirely different intention. One that comes from a place of love and support.

Remember that what we focus on is what we feel. Which is simply to say that if we constantly focus on our perceived flaws, of course it’s going to stir up feelings of lousiness because we will never measure up to our own expectations. It will also likely drive us to continue patterns of behaviour, such as unresourceful eating, that continue to confirm how we feel about ourselves.

What’s wonderful, is that the power to change this lies in our own hands. Here are some strategies to help you amp up your self-love and begin to build a relationship with yourself and your body that is based on love and kindness.

Be mindful of your internal dialogue

Positive internal dialogue is a big part of improving your self-worth. Many of us say things to ourselves we would never dream of saying to another person. Is your internal dialogue, kind, constructive, inspiring or empowering? Catch yourself if you hear negative phrases like “I look fat”, “I look old”, “I hate my hair”, “I’m not good enough” or “I’m a failure” and begin to explore replacing these thoughts with positive affirmations. To begin with, you may catch yourself falling back into old negative habits, but with regular effort you can gradually start to replace this internal dialogue. If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation – only you have the ability to do this.

Be kind to your body

This body is your vehicle for life. It has supported you thus far. It may have helped you carry children, and it has helped you to experience the wonder of the world. Stand in front of your mirror and find one lovely feature – hair, eyes, lips – it doesn’t matter. It can be a confronting exercise, but far too often we criticise our bodies without giving gratitude for the gifts they have given us. When you look in any mirror, don’t leave it until you can take away a positive picture. It is your perception of reality that may be damaging your confidence level and your view is not necessarily reality. Learning to love yourself is the best beauty tip of all. As Audrey Hepburn so elegantly said: “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”

Unfortunately, many women take care of their career, homes, pets, partners, children and essentially everyone around them at the expense of caring for themselves. Practice self-love daily in whatever way you are drawn to – read a book you love, make yourself a nourishing soup, walk with a friend, simply stand outside on the grass with the sun on your face, write in your journal or draw/paint/sew. Looking after your creativity can be as essential for your self-worth as looking after your physical body.

Comparison is exhausting

In this day and age, particularly with the popularity and prevalence of social media, people are exhausting themselves with comparisons. Exhausting energy trying to be something that you’re not, or fighting day in and out for someone else’s approval is a sure-fire way to deplete self-worth. If you recognise that you feel insecure regularly, I offer you this, via Steve Furtick, with much love: If you struggle with insecurity, it may be because you are comparing your behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel. Really think about that.

Change your body language

This is not an anatomical conversation about posture, but simply to point out that how you hold yourself impacts the way you feel about yourself and your energy. Try it. Slump your shoulders. Let your head hang forward with your face downcast. Stay like that, walk around like that for a few minutes. Do you feel confident and energised?

Now pull your shoulders back, hold your head up, stand upright and face forward. Spend a few minutes like that. Which posture offers you more energy? The upright posture, of course. Become so conscious of how you hold yourself. Make it part of how you care for yourself to hold yourself well. Over time, due to the way our nervous system interprets the experiences it has – a raised voice, a failed exam, a car accident, the passing of a loved one – we develop defence postures. Each posture we have offers us a concurrent headspace and the less defensive our posture is, the more resources (from within), including energy, will be on offer to us. Become conscious of how you hold yourself. Stand up tall and lose the weight of the world off your shoulders. Interestingly, the way you stand can also lower stress hormones instantly. This is how posture, smiling, eye contact and speech slowly come into play. Just the simple act of pulling your shoulders back signals to your body that you feel safe and secure.

What’s motivating you?

It is important that when making any health and wellness change you commit to yourself to resolve any emotional ‘disempowering habits or language’ that you may use. Far too often I hear people say, “Oh I’ve been really bad lately, but when such and such happens I’ll be good.” Or “Starting from tomorrow I’m going to be really good with xyz.” I know before I’ve really begun to delve further that this sort of language indicates an emotional relationship with food or movement. I know it’s very likely that when this person looks at himself or herself in the mirror, they view themselves with a critical eye.

As a culture we have become quite obsessed with having the perfect shape, perfect features or being a perfect weight, before we can feel “good” and happy with ourselves. The way we speak to ourselves has to change. Your value doesn’t depreciate based on the number that appears on the scales. Nor will everything in your life fall into place if you could magically fit into a dress you wore when you were 17. Sustainable and long-term change needs to come from a desire to be and feel healthier – not just look the part.

People, who accept who they are and feel good about their physical wellbeing, often emit a sense of calm and content. When we make changes from a foundation of self-acceptance, our changes are likely to be empowering and long-lasting. Trying to be “good” is not motivating enough. When you decide that you’re no longer going to have coffee and cake every day, or you’re going to eat more vegetables and move regularly, it must also be with an attitude of appreciation and gratitude for who you are now.

In order to create a balanced and effortless relationship with your body, often there are two areas that need to be sorted – food and emotions. As cheesy as it might sound – the key to any effective diet or lifestyle change is to care deeply for yourself and treat yourself accordingly. In the words of Geneen Roth: treat yourself as if you are already enough, eat as if you are enough. See, look, listen as if you are enough. Because it’s true.

The Art of Saying No

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Do you have trouble flexing your “no” muscle?

While it’s certainly not true for everyone, if you’re a people pleaser by nature, chances are you will find it hard to say this short but powerful word…

And you’re likely exhausted from trying to appear stronger than you feel.

There is an art to saying no that can take time, patience and practice. There are many reasons why it’s important that we learn to feel more comfortable flexing our “no” muscle.

For one, if we say yes when we’d really prefer to say no—especially if we do it regularly—we set up an internal disharmony that can lead to resentment that builds and bubbles away under the surface. We might feel as though people are taking advantage of our good nature or there is little consideration of our needs. This can be incredibly damaging to our relationships and we may end up blaming or resenting other people for the way we feel—when it’s actually our own reluctance to say no that lies at the heart of our discontent.

It can be tempting to use busyness as an excuse for not taking better care of ourselves and I regularly hear “I’m too busy” – to cook my own meals, take a lunch break, have some time to myself. The reality is we are only busy with what we say yes to and we show what our priorities are with what we spend our time doing. If your priority is (often unconsciously) trying to keep everyone else happy, it’s going to feel like you don’t have time to take care of your own needs.

Learning how to say no, deciphering what you want to say yes to and what your priorities are will all help you to experience a greater sense of spaciousness. It will cultivate more calm and better personal energy so you can enjoy a greater level of wellness. Here are some ways to become more comfortable flexing your “no” muscle.

Explore Where and Why You Have Trouble Saying No

Many people find it easy to say no in one part of their lives and impossible in others. It’s helpful to explore in what areas of your life, or to whom, you find it hard to say no to. Then ask yourself “What am I afraid will occur if I say no?”

This will allow you to begin exploring what the difficulty in saying no is really about—perhaps you don’t want to appear unsociable, thoughtless or incapable of coping with many tasks, for example. Or maybe you feel that if you don’t do something it won’t get done—or it won’t get done to your personal standard. Often there are people waiting in the wings who are willing to offer support and we just aren’t allowing them to.

Reduce your Busyness

Being busy leads us to use the language “I don’t have time”. A more honest choice of words would be, “That’s just not a priority for me at the moment”. The next time you hear yourself say that you don’t have time for something, try the latter instead and see how it feels. If it feels uncomfortable, use it as an opportunity to explore your priorities and compare them to what you’re currently busy doing to see what you could exchange one out for something you’d prefer to invest your time and energy in.

Press Pause

If you find yourself being asked by someone if you can do something (such as attend a party or other engagement), and you get that sinking feeling inside because you know you really don’t want to, a great strategy is pressing pause on making a decision. We tend to agree in the moment out of obligation and then regret our decision later. Give yourself some space to discover what feels right for you.

Focus on the Benefits

You will also find it easier to say no if you focus on what you are giving the other person when you do. For example, saying no might allow the other person the opportunity to develop other resources, give them a more authentic friendship, an expanded view of the world, or help them to grow or become more flexible. It’s also great to remember the benefits within our own lives of learning to say no. If we are doing more things because we truly want to do them rather than just because we don’t know how to say no, our lives will be much more enjoyable and energised.

What’s your vice?

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When you’ve had a rough day, what’s the thing you fall back on to make yourself feel better? Is it talking it out with your partner or a friend? Taking a relaxing bath? Or is it more likely to be a glass of wine paired with your preferred ‘comfort’ food?

If it’s the latter, you’re certainly not alone! Many people share with me that they turn to food to soothe them through emotional upheaval or wine to help them relax or forget after a stressful day. They also tell me that they often feel guilty afterwards or wake up feeling lousy the following day.

More often than not, when we’re trying to drown out a feeling that isn’t comfortable, it leads to overindulging. We don’t just stop at one piece of chocolate or cheese on three crackers—before we know it we’ve polished off the whole packet and feel uncomfortable for a whole new set of reasons.

For many, a relationship with food based on reward or comfort was set up during childhood—which can make it challenging to shift. Those habits we’ve fallen back on for so many years can take time and patience to let go of. But when we do, it can quite honestly change our lives.

No more guilt. No more bartering. No more constantly thinking about whether something is ‘healthy’ or worrying if it’s going to stick to your thighs.

Instead, food becomes simply the way we nourish our bodies.

That doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy what we eat or, from time to time, make less nourishing choices. It simply means we let go of the things we tell ourselves about what food is and what it isn’t. Or who we are because of our choices or a perceived lack of willpower—because surely if you had enough willpower you would be able to abstain, right?! Long-term, sustained change has nothing to do with willpower.

We all do things that we know in our hearts don’t serve our health. So, if you find yourself doing something—eating, drink or acting in a way that you know doesn’t have your best interests in mind—ask yourself why.

Why do you feel the desire to eat something sweet or have a glass of wine? What might you be trying to avoid? And how can you offer yourself support in a way that doesn’t detract from your health?

If you’d like to explore emotional eating in greater detail, including why it happens and how to overcome it, take a look at my Weight Loss Redefined. Join me for this nine-week journey and let me help you to better understand your body and establish a relationship with food that is based on nourishment.

Find out more

Top nutrients for beautiful skin

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From the soil, health and beauty are born. The soil contains minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, which we need to live. But we can’t eat the soil, so we need a medium that is able to supply us with the Earth’s nutrients. The middlemen are plants, as they absorb nutrients from the soil and make them available to us as food.

However, if the soil is deficient in nutrients, then those nutrients are not in the food. So the quality of the soil where our food is grown plays an enormous role in our health and therefore the clarity and health of our skin.

You have probably noticed that certain nutrients appear in skincare products for topical application. I am a fan of supplying all of the cells inside the body with those nutrients so that they can be distributed where they need to go, including to nourishing your skin.

Here are some of the top nutrients for clear, luminous skin:

Zinc

This essential mineral is critical for wound healing—whether that’s a cut on your finger or the aftermath of a pimple. Zinc is necessary for the skin involved in these traumas to heal, and it helps prevent scar formation. It acts in the control of the production of oil in the skin and it also helps balance some of the hormones that can be involved in driving acne. Zinc even nourishes the scalp, helping to maintain the integrity and strength of hair.
Many soils in the world are now zinc-deficient so many people today are deficient in this vital mineral. Boost your zinc food intake with oysters from clean waters, red meat, eggs, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds or you may like to take a supplement.

Vitamin C

This superstar nutrient is highly effective at reducing free radical damage, such as that caused by overexposure to the sun or pollution. Free radicals consume collagen and elastic, promoting wrinkles and other signs of premature ageing. Vitamin C is also involved in the production of collagen, the elastic tissue that is found in the skin, ligaments, tendons, cartilage and blood vessels. Foods high in vitamin C include berries, capsicums, citrus fruits, kale, parsley and broccoli.

B-Group Vitamins

The various B-group vitamins are essential to skin health. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) increases blood flow to the cells and is therefore beneficial to hair and skin, vitamin B3 (niacin) and vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) are helpful in the process of skin regeneration, and can help slow the signs of ageing skin when consumed daily via what you eat. Great energy and vitality also contribute significantly to our sparkle, and the only way we are able to get fuel out of our food is when we have optimal levels of B vitamins. Good food sources of vitamin B1 include seeds, legumes and nuts. Get vitamin B3 and B5 from meats, fish, chicken, eggs and most other protein-containing foods.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)

Dry, inflamed skin, or skin that suffers from the frequent appearance of whiteheads or blackheads, can benefit from a radical increase of EFAs. They play a major role in skin repair, moisture content and overall flexibility. Since the body can’t produce its own EFAs they must be obtained through the diet. There are two types of EFAs—omega-3 fats and omega-6 fats. The typical Western diet is overabundant in omega-6 fatty acids (found in many processed foods, baked goods and grains) and lacking in omega-3s. Increase your omega-3s with cold water, wild-caught fish or through chia seeds, flaxseeds and walnuts. Good sources of an essential omega-6 fat include evening primrose oil and blackcurrants (seed included).

Vitamin E

A powerful antioxidant that can penetrate through layers of skin, assisting the body with the natural wound-healing process. Vitamin E also helps to renew skin cells, making them stronger by reducing oxidative stress. An optimal intake of vitamin E may also help reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Food sources of vitamin E include sunflower seeds, eggs, almonds and avocados.

How to improve your health: the secret to lasting change.

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Why you decide to make changes to improve your health is a completely personal decision.

Often we are influenced by very different motivations.

For some people, it may be that they choose to move regularly so that they can keep up with their children. For others, they consciously choose to eat a mainly plant-based diet because it makes them feel good. For others still, it’s about being good.

While all of these factors will lead to some degree of change, more often than not I find when people make decisions based solely on doing what they think they should be, the long-term motivation isn’t there.

So how do you make long-term changes to improve your health?

When making any change to improve your health, it is important you commit to resolving any emotional disempowering habits or language that you may use. Far too often I hear people say, “Oh I’ve been really bad lately, but when such and such happens I’ll be good.” Or, “starting from tomorrow I’m going to be really good with xyz.” I know before I’ve really begun to delve further that this sort of language indicates an emotional relationship with food or movement. I also know it’s very likely that, when this person looks at himself or herself in the mirror, they view themselves with a critical eye.

Start by considering your inner-voice.

As a culture, we have become quite obsessed with perfection. Having the perfect shape, perfect features or being a perfect weight before we can feel “good” and happy with ourselves. The way we speak to ourselves has to change. Your value doesn’t depreciate based on the number that appears on the scales. Nor will everything in your life fall into place if you could magically fit into an outfit you wore ten years ago. Sustainable and long-term change needs to come from a desire to be and feel healthier – not just look the part. It has to come from wanting to take care of yourself because you value yourself.

Work towards self-acceptance.

People who accept who they are and feel good about their physical wellbeing, often emit a sense of calm and content. When we make changes from a foundation of self-acceptance, our changes are likely to be empowering and long-lasting. Trying to be “good” is not motivating in the long term. A decision to no longer have coffee and cake every day, or to eat more vegetables and move regularly, must also be with an attitude of appreciation and gratitude for who you are now.

Switch your focus.

In order to create a kind relationship with your body where taking care of yourself with consistent (not perfect) nourishing food choices and regular movement are effortless, often there are two areas that need to be addressed – food and emotions. When you live from a place of deeply appreciating life and the amazing person you are, your focus becomes taking care of your body rather than depriving yourself to become a certain weight. While it may seem converse, when you focus on your health, most people find their weight falls into place. As cheesy as it might sound, the key to any lasting change you make to improve your health is to live knowing that life is precious, that you are precious and to treat yourself accordingly.

Signs your adrenals need support

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Ever wake up feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck? It could be that your adrenal glands are struggling to keep up with what you’re asking of them.

Only the size of a walnut, these mighty glands—you have two—are part of your endocrine system and they sit just on top of your kidneys. They produce an array of hormones (chemical messengers), which include adrenaline and cortisol, sex hormones such as progesterone, and hormones that help control blood pressure, fluid balance and salt retention in the body—just to name a few.

If we live a high-stress, fast-paced lifestyle, or live our lives on an emotional rollercoaster, it can take a toll on our body. To our body, any kind of stress—be it because we’re in immediate danger or simply feeling financial, relationship or work pressures—is interpreted as a direct threat to our life.

Why?

Historically, the only stressors we faced were typically life threatening. We might have had to fight or flee from a sabre-tooth tiger or a neighbouring tribe for example. Our only long-term stressors were things like famine, war or drought. So, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense that our bodies are primarily wired for survival.

The problem is, in the last one hundred years or so our way of living has taken a radical change. In the last twenty to thirty years, it’s changed even more significantly. But in terms of evolution, this is just a tiny speck of time, so our biology has not yet had a chance to evolve to cope with our modern lifestyle.

The body’s protective mechanism is to fire off stress hormones, namely adrenaline and cortisol, produced by the adrenal glands. Adrenaline is our acute stress hormone, designed to get you out of danger, and cortisol is the stress hormone produced in excess if the stress becomes chronic. If we’re living life at a million miles an hour, rushing around trying to get through our endless to-do list and feeling as though we’re not getting anywhere, our adrenal glands can get a walloping.

If the stress response doesn’t truly switch off and you have had a high cortisol output for many, many years, your adrenal glands may not be able to sustain this. They aren’t designed to withstand this kind of output, so they ‘crash’ and cortisol output is no longer optimal or elevated; it will plummet. This has become known as adrenal fatigue, or ‘burn out’.

Here are some signs that your adrenals need support:

  • A deep, unrelenting fatigue
  • Feeling tired but wired
  • Feeling stiff, particularly on waking
  • Extreme difficulty getting out of bed in the mornings
  • Feeling like you NEED sugar or caffeine to get you through some mornings and most afternoons
  • Unless you go to bed by 10pm, you will typically get a second wind and it will be much harder for you to fall asleep if you’re still up at midnight

The pituitary gland in your brain regulates your adrenals (and the rest of your endocrine system), and, although treatment for adrenal fatigue usually involves a range of strategies that support the adrenals themselves, going one step further and assisting the pituitary gland can also be immensely powerful and highly beneficial to restoring your health and vitality.

In my opinion, a form of yoga known as restorative yoga, or Stillness Through Movement, is one of the most effective ways to make progress in recovering from adrenal fatigue. With that said, never underestimate the healing and restorative power of food the way it comes in nature.  With a combination of restorative practices, herbal medicine and a nourishing way of eating, it is possible to regain your health and vitality and recover from adrenal fatigue.  Prioritising your own health is a necessary step your recovery.

Are your sleep habits sabotaging your energy?

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12.00am, 2am, 2.15am, 3.00am – do these times look familiar? When was the last time you actually slept through the night? Or better still when was the last time you woke up feeling refreshed? Unfortunately more often than not I hear the phrase “I can’t remember.” Can you imagine a world free from sleep anxiety where when your head hits the pillow and sleep is virtually automatic?

One of the single most important things you can do for outstanding health costs absolutely nothing and the key to it may be right in front of you. The results have the ability to transform your life.

Many people sabotage themselves when it comes to sleep. The trouble is they do this with things they probably don’t even give a second thought to. Once they are addressed they can make a tremendous improvement to your ability to get to sleep and stay asleep.

So what are some common lifestyle factors that are overlooked?

Firstly, we need to address your relationship with sleep. Are you someone who can be overheard saying that you are going to finish “that pile of work” after dinner? An overactive or stimulated mind can be hard to put to rest. Do you watch a gripping thriller on TV and leave yourself at the edge of your seat before trying to sink into bed and drift peacefully off to sleep? Do you finish your meal with coffee, claiming that it doesn’t affect you? Is your favourite food a spicy curry that leaves you with indigestion, or because of work commitments you eat late at night engulfing anything and everything to fill the void because you haven’t eaten since 2pm?

Addressing why you can’t sleep involves looking at a number of factors, many of which can be right under your nose.

In order to have quality, restorative sleep, an aspect of your nervous system must be activated, the calm branch associated with “rest and repair.” If you are reading, listening or doing anything that stimulates the other revved up branch, associated with “fight or flight” – anything that increases your heart rate, makes you feel worried or stressed, or requires significant concentration – your ability to switch off and switch to rest and repair can be compromised.

What you do before you try to sleep can influence whether your sleep hormone, melatonin, is produced or suppressed. Melatonin production is inhibited by light hitting the retina in the eye. It is only produced in darkness. Do you text, look at your iPad, or read an electronic book late at night in bed? Any backlit devices have the ability to suppress melatonin production meaning you lay there growing increasingly frustrated while your body is trying to adjust itself. Serotonin, our happy, calm, and content hormone, is converted into melatonin inside the body. Low serotonin levels can result in sleep disruption and sleep disorders, including insomnia. Stress and poor digestion are common causes of low serotonin levels, which can lead to disrupted sleep, depression, anxiety and fatigue.

What is absolutely astounding is that 80 – 90% of our serotonin is actually found in the gut and in fact 400 times more melatonin is synthesized in the gut than in the brain. Hence looking after your digestive system becomes a crucial component of outstanding sleep. Who would have thought that something as simple as taking care of your digestive system could result in improved sleep!

Quick tips to improve sleep anxiety

  • Support digestive function by starting every morning with apple cider vinegar or lemon and warm water.
  • Keep your room clear and free from clutter
  • Keep your bedroom dark
  • Keep a notebook beside your bed so if you wake up and think of something you need to remember, you can write it down and go back to sleep instead of lying awake worrying you might forget it
  • Get up at the same time each morning and expose your eyes to sunlight (don’t look directly at the sun, obviously). Better still, go outside and exercise after waking. If this is not possible because of young children, fling open the curtains and look outside, breathe slowly moving your diaphragm and recognise a new day has dawned that you are fortunate to be part of.

Is there such a thing as too much exercise?

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Physical exercise is good for us right? Of course! Movement is an integral part of any healthy lifestyle and we would benefit from including more incidental exercise in our daily routine if we don’t do so already. However, exercise, depending on its intensity, can sometimes put additional pressure on the body and in certain circumstances it can do more harm than good.

Exercise is supposed to energise us. If you feel energised and uplifted at the end of an exercise session then by all means keep going with it!

But many people over-exercise—either for too long or at too high an intensity. In the long-term, strenuous, high intensity exercise can not only exhaust our energy supply but can also impact our immune system, leaving us feeling totally run down. Couple this intense exercise with our often-frantic modern lifestyle and we can be left feeling tired but wired.

That’s because too much high intensity exercise not only creates more free radicals, it can trigger our stress response.

The adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system, and they sit just on top of the kidneys. They produce an array of hormones (chemical messengers), which include our stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, sex hormones such as progesterone, hormones that help control blood pressure, fluid balance and salt retention in the body, just to name a few. When it comes to our vitality, they pack a major punch in helping to create this.

Initially during a short-term stress response such as intense exercise, the adrenals release cortisol and adrenaline which acts to increase the heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, the nervous system response known as “fight or flight”.

When this short-term stress becomes long-term (from intensive exercise or even stress from chronic illness, work, relationships or other worries) the adrenal glands may no longer be able to cope and hormone levels can drop. The “fight or flight” response that historically protected us from predators, was not designed to protect us from this constant low-grade stress we are often experiencing in today’s world.

Symptoms such as low libido, sex hormone imbalances, compromised immunity, fatigue (even after 8 hours sleep), sugar cravings, weight plateau or weight gain and the inability to concentrate become evident. Sometimes people’s hair starts falling out.

More so than ever, it is essential to listen to your body. Choose your movement options wisely, not out of guilt or for calorie expenditure. A walk on the beach with a close friend or a stroll through a park taking notice of the sights, smells and sounds. You might find that embracing a breath-focused yoga practice is more energising for you at the moment. Adaptogenic and adrenal herbs can also be wonderfully supportive and provide much needed nourishment.  Herbs such as Withania, Rhodiola and Licorice can help to support the adrenal glands and modulate the immune system. Vitamin C, B vitamins and magnesium are also essential for optimal adrenal gland function and more are often required with periods of prolonged stress or to help combat the effects of intense exercise. If this resonates for you I would encourage you to speak to a health professional, as there may much you can do, or new ways to move for you to learn about so you can support yourself to feel better again.

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